I’m going to offer a SPOILER warning for this Breaking Bad theory, just to be safe, although this theory on how Breaking Bad may resolve is both iffy and glorious, but it IS backed by evidence, so read on at your own risk.
Let’s start from this place: We know, from Vince Gilligan’s obsession with Checkhov’s Gun, that nothing in Breaking Bad ever just happens without a reason. If Vince Gilligan presents something, then there’s almost certainly a reason for it. That brings me to a cool piece of evidence unearthed by one of our minutia-obsessed readers, Brandon Johnson, who watched the cold open to the season five premiere episode several times. What he spotted was a microphone wire.
I watched the Denny’s scene a couple of times, and it took me a few minutes to isolate it, but sure enough: Here are three screenshots showing what is obviously a wire:
OK. We know what you’re thinking, and it’s exactly what I thought initially, too: 1) It’s a technical glitch. That’s just where an actor’s microphone goes. And you may be right. HOWEVER, those first two shots are close-ups (only the third shot is a long shot). Why would Vince Gilligan — who is so obsessed with the tiny details of the show that he once spent hours trying to find a t-shirt with the right shade of grey for Hank to wear — not only allow a microphone wire to be visible, but provide a CLOSE UP of that wire, and do so in THIS particular scene?
Here’s my crackpot theory: A few episodes ago, Walter White promised Skyler that before it was all said and done, Skyler would like him again, right? We also know that Walt is currently embroiled in a potential turf war with another meth organization. What would drive Walt to come to his senses, join Hank, and turn on the other meth organization? Two things: The death of Jesse or the death of a child. The signs have pointed to the death of Holly for quite a while.
Holly dies. Walt turns state’s evidence, goes against the meth organization (and Lawson, the gun dealer played by Jim Beaver), and maybe he’s shot and killed in the Mexican stand-off.
Another potential clue is the waitress’ mention of Swampscott, Massachusetts in that diner scene. Why? Swampscott is Native American for “red rock.” Red has been associated with death all series long, AND “red rock” is another synonym for meth, maybe the meth that the other organization is selling.
That’s a hell of a leap to make from what might be some errant mic wires, but you never know with Vince Gilligan. The guy is a genius.
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Are wires that low tech that you can actually see a wire outline? Do modern day wires even have a wire?
thats what i thought, if walt can bug hanks office with a small device i would imagine he would use the same sort of device
As someone who grew up in Swampscott, MA, I can assure you that it’s actually Native American for “too white to live in Lynn, but too poor to live in Marblehead.”
Nicely done.
Excellent.
That is beyond spot on. Do Salem next.
*applaud from a navajo
As someone who’s lived in Salem, MA, I can assure you that Salem is actually native for “Cast-offs from Peabody who thought it’d be cool to live in a tourist trap and can’t afford to live in Beverly.”
Breaking Bad has gotten more and more outrageous as the seasons have gone on (requiring, for example, belief that during the train heist scene, the engineers didn’t hear Todd’s power tools unscrewing the lid of the train container or see him at all despite being only 800 feet away). With the over-the-top factor of the show increasing as it has, I’d have a really hard time believing that any of the criminals on the show would get taken down by something as simple as a wire that was so obviously placed.
As for Holly wearing pink, I don’t think it portends her own death; I think, rather, that she’s like the (little) angel of death. The timing of her conception and birth coincide with Walt’s own death sentence; he was diagnosed with lung cancer and got into the meth business, one (maybe both) of which will lead to his demise. Remember, the pink teddy bear wasn’t an omen of forthcoming death; it was a symbol of the destruction and death that accompanied the plane crashes. Besides, no way any TV show allows the death of such a ridiculously cute baby.
In conclusion, we’ll all feel like a bunch of assholes when the Breaking Bad series finale ends with Victoria Principal waking up from a dream to find Patrick Duffy still alive and well in the shower.
You ever stood next to a diesel locomotive? If I had to suspend belief in that scene at all, it was that they could hear each other speaking, not that they could hear an impact wrench 800 yards (not feet) away.
As crazy as all the stuff on the show has been, it all gets researched and fact-checked extensively. Everything they do is real, or near enough that it doesn’t matter. Here’s an article about the people who make sure they get it right:
[www.wired.com]
Vince and the gang also talk though every big stunt/scene in detail on the Breaking Bad Insider Podcast. It’s really cleared some stuff up for me in the past, and is a nice little companion to the show.
That being said, I think Dux hit the nail on the head: trains are really loud and the guys were far away.
I don’t deny that my knowledge of train mechanics is obviously lacking, but wouldn’t the noise have died down though when the engineers stopped the train to avoid hitting the truck? And he still would’ve been visible from that far away.
He would have been visible, but not easily. They were both (presumably) distracted trying to fix the dump truck, and they would have had to look for a crouching figure half a mile away.
The wouldn’t have shut off the engine when they stopped, probably just put it in the train equivalent of neutral and hopped out. Starting those things is kind of a big deal, so they would keep it going unless they were gonna be stopped for a long time.
Holly does wear that pink teddy bear outfit… reminds me of the pink bear in the pool.
They are you 800 metres away
The first picture I can kind of see, but those other two look like wrinkles in the fabric. Either that, or the wire is coming out of his zipper, as seen in the third picture.
Yeah. The thing about Chekov’s Gun is that the audience has to see it.
^ what Dux said.
Agreed. I can’t see it in the last two pictures.
I’ve looks for about 10 minutes, now, and I can’t see a wire in the 2nd screenshot. The 3rd one looks convincingly enough like a fold in Walt’s t-shirt that I remain unconvinced. Maybe the first one is an under shirt, or something.
or maybe it´s for his dialysis, he has cancer if I remember correctly
Yes, he did/does have lung cancer, but unless it’s affected his kidneys, he wouldn’t be getting dialysis. I could see him having a PICC line if he was getting chemotherapy, but that wouldn’t be near his abdomen, necessarily.
You can have dialysis on your lungs, although its normally done in a hospital.
More like DIE-alysis, AMIRITE??
He’s in New Hampshire, full head of hair/beard, and new glasses.
Could it all be a part of some witness protection?
is he in New Hampshire? yes, car tags and fake ID. but the waitress made NH sound far far away. and wasnt the gun dealer the same dude that sold him the pistol last year? i’m asking…i dont know.
He’s in New Mexico, New Hampshire is only cover for his new identity (for which, we have no reason why he needs it, YET).
@Agent M The gun dealer asked Walt if the gun would be crossing the border, and I assume he meant the US-Mexico border. If he was still in New Hampshire I guess he could have meant the US-Canada border, but the scene outside doesn’t look like it was shot in New England.
Red rock = New Mexico. Swampscott just may be an inside joke.
I can say with 110% confidence that he is in Albuquerque. I live here and can walk to that Dennys
Season Finale:
Holly dies; Walter is cured. Walter and Jesse decide to work with the DEA against other bigger cartels (Declan’s maybe?)
Witness protection places Walter a broken home with a single mom and 3 children; one of whom is Jesse (renamed “Francis”) who is away at military school but is forced to suddenly move to Alaska.
A supergenius child begins to suspect that certain things about his family are off and starts to slowly unravel the mystery with the help of his idiot savant brother Dewey.
Reese is in fact a Bosnian terrorist sleeper cell who is employed by the CIA as a double agent. Jane Kaczmarek has woken up from a coma and has amnesia.
Malcolm in the middle takes place in the year 2016.
Except for the first picture, there’s nothing suggesting the presence of a wire. Especially watching the scene, there’s nothing that says “he’s wearing a wire”.
I think this “theory” is more a case of someone watching something so often that they see things that aren’t even there.
That aside, the whole scene is of him buying a machine gun. A MACHINE GUN. How does one connect that with wearing a wire? The whole point of a wire is to secretly listen in on conversations, presumably to gather evidence. Buying a machine gun suggests an intent of using it, the complete opposite of having a conversation and collecting evidence.
How does this even warrant a post? Do I get one if I make up some stuff and send it to you?
Well, he could be buying the machine gun in order to stick the guy who sold it to him with an assault weapons charge for Hank. Selling a a weapon of that magnitude would result in a pretty hefty jail sentence, and if Hank is going to cut Walt a deal, it’s going to have to result in big, headline-making charges and arrests. Brother-in-law or not, Walt has been producing the purest meth in the Southwest to most of New Mexico for more than a year – in order to offer immunity for all that, Walt would need to offer up big arrests in return.
he’s not wearing a wire… he is on the brink, and he’s buying that gun to fuck someone(s) up. remember, Saul has a guy that can get him a new identity and get him far away, and that could explain his new identity.
Dux said
“Yeah. The thing about Chekov’s Gun is that the audience has to see it.”
this.
Also, even after staring at the pictures, they all just look like regular creases that happen in clothes.
Unless I missed some podcast where Gilligan declares his fascination with Chekov’s gun, I have to say, again with Chekov’s gun? They show a gun, and then somebody gets shot. They show poison, and then somebody gets poisoned. Sounds like a crime story to me. More often, It seems to me that they open with the final scene, like Tuco’s office blowing up, or the plane crash, and then backtrack to the beginning. Doesn’t seem the same thing.
“nothing in Breaking Bad ever just happens without a reason.”
In this lies madness. Dux is right, you have to see Chekov’s gun.
This theory may be true, I don’t think so though. Walt’s gone around the bend.
has anyone pointed out that he was not wearing a wedding ring in this scene??
Besides, if any kid dies it’s Jr. hank and marie have made a point of how Holly is their little girl and they love her. They will raise Holly after walt, skylar and jr die.
The thing is, I think it makes some sense that he turns state’s evidence. Even the worst characters typically get a moment of redemption. The chemistry teacher has to be hiding somewhere within that guy, and I’d like to think that he reappears again before the show ends. I’m not saying he “breaks good,” but I think there’s a real possibility that he does something redeeming for his family again before he goes out in a blaze of bullets. After all, Walter White began as a man who only wanted to leave something behind for his family. He’s clearly dying again (notice, he’s coughing and taking pills in that diner scene), so before he leaves his mortal coil, it’s not out of the question that he might do something that would redeem him in the eyes of Walt Jr. and/or Holly.
If Walt had the capacity give in and turn state, he would have done it against Gus after “Crawlspace” when his family was in IMMEDIATE and VERY GRAVE danger. But no, Walt had to win, so he just put together a totally logical and practical scheme to blow up his rival in a nursing home.
the chemistry teacher was hiding within heisenberg, that was a front.
I dunno, the more the show progresses, the more it feels like we’re being set-up for a Hamlet-style ending where EVERYONE dies. I’m thinking Skylar, Mike and Walt all definitely die, maybe Flynn and Jesse, too, to give you that emotional gut punch. Hank and maybe Marie will be the only ones left standing, and they’ll raise Holly.
Could it be the mic for the video camera in his glasses? Just a thought.
After reading this, I fired up the DVR and played this scene multiple times, while staring at Bryan Cranston’s crotch. I feel dirty.
For what it’s worth, I agree the first still looks like a wire under his shirt, but the other two do not appear to be anything other than folds in his shirt. Re-watching this made me realize the season opener takes place about one year in the future from the events happening currently on the show, so the Witness Protection idea seems completely plausible.
That got some people through all six seasons of “Malcom in the Middle.”
Oh, Dustin. You so cray.
I don’t think Walter would EVER work with the DEA because of his ego and pride. And after some of the insidious things he’s done, I don’t think the DEA work with him in that capacity either. Other than to testify in court and then go back to his cell, that is.
It’s possible that the DEA might not find out about all Walt’s done, thereby still giving him that out.
I completely agree with your other reason, though: there’s no way Walt would accept that out. He’s too prideful, and he would hate to have to do what someone else says, even if that saved him from jail. Hell, he didn’t even do it several times when it would have saved him from a potential grisly death at the hands of a drug cartel.
Shee-it, the DEA would work with a Walter White in a heartbeat
The DEA was willing to give a mid-level guy like Tortuga anything he wanted out of a Skymall catalog.
They’ll cut a deal with Heisenberg if he can put a massive organization like the Phoenix one out of business. Hell, he killed Fring for them for free.
Didn’t Vince say that Walk will soon do something so despicable that viewers will find him detestable? If Holly dies, then wouldn’t he be the reason? t doubt Skylar would ever see Walt in a positive light again if he were the reason their child died.
There is no fucking way he goes states evidence. He’s made it clear he’s in the Empire business. He’s lived with the pain and regret of being emasculated from his previous failures. Hes not going to spend the rest of his albeit short life having been an even bigger failure than before.
Also, he buys a fucking machine gun. I’m amazed how this doesn’t bother anyone’s theories. I don’t know why chekhov’s gun is connected to some non-existent wire, yet the actual MACHINE GUN doesn’t factor into anything, somehow.
That said, what turf war is this that’s being mentioned? What rival organization is there that somehow hasn’t been brought up at all yet?
@Rapax- For real. It’s like people are getting so caught up in trying to figure out some trick that they think is going to be played on them, they just ignore the facts that are just obvious and in your face.
I think the “turf war” is just speculation from the meeting Mike had with the dudes from Phoenix. They obviously want Heisenburgs blue meth off the market, and if Walt doesn’t end up working with them, it’s only likely that it becomes a turf war.
Plus Mike has talked about how there is plenty of turf for everyone to deal, but Walt wasn’t having that. He wants ALL the turfs.
I love Breaking Bad so much that I want to have all of it’s babies.
I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant!
Everything in this show surprises me, but I’ll say I’m 75% sure Walt will do nothing redeeming in the end. And I think that machine gun is for Gretchen and Elliot! They have to come back in to play, since they are the source of all the bitterness that turned him so evil. And his evil will make him lose everything, but naturally he’ll continue to blame them for all of his problems and he’ll decide to murder them.
“and he’ll decide to murder them.”
With a MACHINE GUN?! What happened to good old Ricin or smth…
Yes, DEFINITELY with a machine gun! I’m sure the plan would be murder/suicide at that point, and he’d want it to be huge. Megalomania!
An M60 for Gretchen and Elliott. Makes sense to me!
JESUS CHRIST I WANT ALL OF THE EPISODES NOW
My other theory is that it’s getting close to the end of the month, so Dustin made up a far fetched yet slightly plausible theory to kick the beeshive of us readers and get the websites hit count up for the month.
Like Walt, his hubris knows no bounds!
Dustin’s in the EMPIRE BUSINESS!
Here’s something that bothered me about that beginning scene from the season opener.
So Walt’s clearly on the run or hiding out, given the altered look and fake ID. And then he does the age thing with the bacon, so it’s clearly his real birthday – he’s not doing it for anyone else’s benefit. Then, he shows the waitress proof that it’s his birthday – by showing her his fake ID. So he has a new identity, but decided to put his REAL birthdate on the fake ID? Why would you do that? I’m not sure that it means anything, but it just seems odd to put something like that on your fake license.
Also, something that just occurred to me: They’ve been making a real point of showing this season that Walt is embracing the Heisenberg look all the time now, even wearing the hat in front of his family. But in the Denny’s, he looks much, much different than his Heisenberg persona – so either he is state’s evidence, or something put the fear of God in him so bad that he wants nothing to do with the Heisenberg look.
As someone who made fake IDs for beer money in college, you always put the real day of birth because sometimes it’s a question that’s asked in transactions and you don’t want to stumble.
Good points, but I don’t think he’s hiding, he’s in the middle of New Mexico. Surroundings make it clear, and the New Hampshire ID must be a fake to pull off some scheme without getting connected to the real Heisenberg.
The gun buy is obviously real, which IMO rules out this articles theory of wearing a wire, he asks for an instruction manual which is completely Walter all the way. He’s no gun expert, having used one only a handful of times in the series.
So, I think he’s plotting something epically huge and doesn’t want certain people to see, either this new rival gang or the police. Im guessing Jesse and Mike are involved in some way as well, because Walter must have had a hell of a good idea at the end of the last episode. Mike was ready to blow his head off.
“Red Rock” pertains to opium. At least it used to.
/kids and their drugs
I believe that the Lambert name is derived from Disney’s Lambert the Sheepish Lion, who has to come out from the sheep to protect his family.
How pissed is Dustin Knowles gonna be when Holly ends up not dying? Dude mentions it in every fucking BB post.
red rock is opium. not meth.
i did lots of drugs in college.
I like this theory because it answers one of the questions that’s been bothering me; when will Jim Beaver’s role become the more regular or important role that it inevitably will.
I’m starting to grow tired of the “everybody dies” theory. Sure, BB is a fearless/ruthless show in that it’s willing to go pretty much anywhere, but that doesn’t mean they WILL or SHOULD. Walt dying in a blaze of glory is too obvious, and more importantly, exactly he wants. The ultimate “satisfying” ending for this character is he goes back being a schmuck, maybe in witness protection, alone, exiled from his meth empire. Then again, that might be the reason he has the machine gun.
My prediction: Skyler is offed by Walt right after leaving some kind of tell-all message to Hank. She’s at the end of her rope, and her one, expressed, desire is to keep her kids safe. I don’t see how she can do that OTHER than turning Walt in. Mike will die, he’s stayed in the game too long when he should have retired. I think Jesse will survive, just because he’s the closest the show has to a good guy (aside from Hank, that is). I could buy Flynn dying in a car accident just because it’s been hinted at so much. Like someone else suggested, Hank and Marie (who we’ll find out could never conceive or some BS like that) will raise Holly. And as with all other theories posted, mine is probably as wrong as the rest of ‘em. Like the post suggested, Gilligan is a genius.
The wire thing is silly. The end.
I think the worst way to end this show is to arrest Walt or kill him. What has made this show so fantastic is that it’s brought humanity to some detestable things. What show does that better than this one? As much as I don’t like admitting it to myself, I’m still rooting for Walt. You have to admit he’s impressive. I’d like to see the show end with him living his life on the run living a sad and lonely life. Walt survives, Heisenberg dies.
That would be a very good ending.
I admit I’m still rooting for Walt. His idea to cook inside tented houses was astounding. He’s an absolute genius, and I want to see all he’s capable of.
Ok, so I see people are talking about how Walt does something that we can’t forgive him for and that people are bringing the risin cigarette back up.
So what if Walt tries to kill Skylar by getting her to smokes the cigarette. Say he leaves it out so she smokes it since she seems to be doing that none stop. Now instead of her smoking it, becasue really, we wouldn’t hate him for killing Skylar lol, Walter Jr. sneaks home, sees it laying there, and smokes.
Now another possibility is Holly somehow getting ahold of it. This one is way less possible unless Walt purposely poisons her, which I seriously doubt.
personally i dont think one of his children die i thinki walter jr started doin meth. i started thinking that when one scene walter jr doesnt eat hes always locked in his room or gone. so that he might be over there to kill the the king pin that is selling that meth anyways i really hope it is cuz that would be an awesome finale
there is no wire visible in any of these screenshots.
Everyone on here has failed to mention one fact- He plays with his bacon to make it a 52, which we see this is something Skyler does for him every birthday. If there’s a “Checkhov’s gun” in this, it’s that.
Watching the scene, the wire is much clearer to see than from the screenshot. Especially that first one, the camera is zoomed in DIRECTLY on it. He’s reaching for his wallet, so they make you think that’s the point of the camera panning down, but the camera is definitely centered on his shirt and that line. Vince Gilligan is too detail obsessed to zoom in and show the outline of a microphone wire if it’s not significant.
I dunno, would someone really bring a wire to a Machine gun fight? I admit my only experience with people wearing wires is from TV, but usually they attempt to infiltrate by getting someone to talk to them. The guy that sold him the gun didn’t say much, anyone he’d be meeting up with probably won’t be doing much talking if he’s holding a machine gun either. If he’s buying a machine gun, he’s buying it to protect himself/use it.
I don’t know about this theory but what would expect the machine gun seller to say? “Here, sir, give me $50,000 for this machine gun, model M60.”
I guess thats kind of my point. The “wire” didn’t really catch anything that the Machine Gun seller said. What use would it be to have what he said on tap? If he was really trying to use that “wire” on HIM, it seems like Walt would’ve said more.
This has kind of been mentioned already, but it could be a central line catheter (as opposed to the PICC line mentioned by someone else) running to a port in his chest. But that would usually be attached to a chemo pump worn around the waist…which looks pretty bulky, according to my 30 seconds of google research.
It would be ironic if Skylar gets killed instead, and Walt becomes a widower/single-dad.
There’s been allusions to that, with her sending the kids away, her “suicide attempt” in the pool, and her talk about wanting Walt to die of cancer. And, as someone has mentioned, she used to always arrange his bacon for him on his birthday, and he does it himself for #52… Could be she’s dead.
IMO, losing Holly wouldn’t be as life-altering for Walt as having to take care of her. She is his incentive to change. If she’s gone, there’s no need for Walt to clean up his act at all. But if she needs him, and has no one else (and if Skylar is out of the picture, and can’t keep her away from him anymore) then he suddenly has to something to live for again, a reason to stop cooking meth.
And, the Chekov’s Gun here could be Saul Goodman’s “guy” (you know, the guy who can set you up with a completely new identity?). If so, he’s not in witness protection at all.
Granted, he didn’t have Holly with him at the diner, which you’d think he would’ve if Skylar were dead and he were on the run, but I think that would be a little more clever than Walt simply losing his kids. That seems a little too obvious, if you ask me (i.e. Walt becomes a meth dealer to take care of his family, but ends up killing them instead).
But if Walt were forced to become a better father, and protect his children (which has also been alluded to)… now that would be a twist. He never expected to outlive Skylar. All of his plans hinged on dying before she did.
There isn’t anything remotely plausible about this theory. Starting with the fact that they are obviously creases in his clothes and finishing with Walt’s comment about being in the empire business.
Dustin your streak continues. Keep up the good work..
He either got his new identity two ways- through goodman or through witness protection.
He gets it through goodman, then he’s not working with the DEA.
If he gets through witness protection, he’s already done the snitching and there is no need for the wire anymore. Possibly he knows who other rival meth group he snitched on is coming for him, so he’s coming for them (the one who knocks)
the fact that he is sick again is very important, but im not sure where it comes in. The sickness could mean he’s about to go down in a blaze of fire? shit i dont know. i love this show
Interesting that someone brought Flynn up. So here’s ze prediction (i soo hope this happens):
Flynn IS doing meth as we only see him in and out his room often and he’s got this new carefree attitude. Imagine Flynn takin’ down his druglord father!
Red Rock is also Sedona, AZ
At first I was wondering how could both red and pink be a symbol for death? Unless pink is a sign for the death of an innocent person, who had died not at the hands of one of the characters, but as a result of a decision or action (or inaction with jane). I almsot hate reading all of these pages out there about the show because I know something I read will be right and spoil it for me…BUT I CAN’T STOP!!!!
Orange is used to symbolize death in this (and no other) show (ever!), if I recall. I think there are probably a lot of death symbols bein’ used.
I have your next post Dustin.
He´s fake name is Lambert, like Christopher Lambert, the Highlander, so he´ll behead everyone else and he won´t die.
Gilligan’s been clear and consistant from weeks before the show opened. Can a middle age schmoo become Tony Montana? Hell, yes. Walt’s going out gunning them down in mobs and every single thing he loved’s dead body will be faintly visible behind him. “When you mess with me, you mess with the best!” ratatatat. Be a nice touch if it’s whats-her-name, the mother of Gus’ child -the exec who hooked them up with the train- is the one who comes up behind him with the double-barreled.
That, and not hallucinatory wires only the initiate can see, is how great writers steal.
…and the school teacher died with crazy8′s last breath in that basement.
what about the fact that the slogan on NH plates is “live free or die”?
Let’s take it one step further.
Walter and Jesse’s last names are both colors- White, PINKman.
Red is the color that connects the two colors: Red + White = Pink
We all know how important color is to the visual side of Breaking Bad so why not with names as well?
It clearly already is- Just look at the names of of the business they hide out inside of- All Spanish.
What if Red Rock is the thing that wraps the story up in a nice little package with a bow on top at the end of the series?
Color theory, I buy, name theory, nay. The Spanish names don’t seem to be significant. It’s just far more logical given their illegal employment, high frequency in the southwest, and willingness to let meth dealers operate under their rooves.
Whitey would certainly not be cool with that.
I’m sorry, but I can’t even see a wire in ANY of the pics. Can someone circle them?
In the beginning Walt was a milktoast kind of guy and Jesse was the total badass. I see Walt going down(no idea how) and Jesse donning the Eisenberg hat…drum roll…the end!
I think you’re reaching here. Why would he be wearing a wire and picking up an M60 machine gun? Why would Walt make a deal with the DEA and sell a gun to the rival dealers from Phoenix. Plain and simple. Walt is going to fucking war.
Just for fuck sakes: Episode 8 Gliding Over All: Loose ends are tied up while Walt contemplates a dangerous move.
Also it would piss me off greatly if Walt turned and began snitching.
We caught up with Emmy nominee Anna Gunn at this week’s Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Performers Peer Group reception and she shared this morsel about the Sept. 2 climax: “Skyler started off [the season] really, really, really unraveled and almost paralyzed as a human being. And let’s just say she starts to gain her footing a great deal more by the end of this half of the season.”
Smart theory. I’m just not sold on Holly being killed. I think they’ve effectively killed enough kids already. I wouldn’t want it to start seeming like Gilligan’s fetish.
Nope. Not seeing it or buying it.
If it is a wire, why is everyone assuming it’s a microphone? He could be strapped up with explosives. That was my first guess before microphone, I’m a audio engineer, you don’t need any wires for a microphone. Explosives? Usually need some wires.
Not buying this theory but hey, atleast it brings us together for another BrBa discussion, amiright ?
DaRooster: Shame on you for spoiling Hamlet for me!!!!!
The title of episode 8, ‘Gliding Over All’ is another Walt Whitman reference (the name of one of his poems which you can read here: [www.poemhunter.com]).
Other Whitman references were in S05e03 when Walt pulls a copy of ‘Leaves of the Grass’ (Whitman’s book he spent his life writing and re-writing) out of a box when moving back into the White household and Gale reciting ‘When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer’ to Walt in the lab (Season 3).
As for the diner scene, it looks to me like Walt knows he is going to his own funeral with that machine gun. The fact that he tips the waitress $100 on a free meal, he is taking cancer meds again, when asked if the gun is crossing the border he says “it’s never leaving town”, the “live free or die” plates and the fact he drove 30 hours from New Hampshire only stopping for gas (possibly escaping from some kind of witness relocation program, hence the changed name/appearance) it seems like he’s after vengeance at any possible price.
In the latest episode when Marie accentuated that she “could keep her forever” re: Holly I thought that was a surefire sign that Skylar will die and Walt making the bacon into ’52′ at the diner also makes me think this now.
I wish I could click “Like” on every word of this post.
how about the fact that walt and jr were watching tony montana going out in a hail of LMG bullets, and now wally has an lmg in his trunk?
Who would Walt be going after from witness protection? There is nobody to snitch on, outside of these guys from Phoenix. No cartel, No Gus. It’s pretty plausible that the guy he bought the gun from could have gotten him the fake id, and the NH license plates. We all know Walt is a smart man, it’s pretty easy to pull up Google maps and find out how long a driving distance between two places is. Yes, I agree, Walt is going to his funeral on some vengeance shit, but WALTER WHITE IS NO SNITCH. God it would piss me off so much if he turns himself in and works with the DEA.
You’re one to talk.
WHERE’S WALLACE, STRING?! WHERE’S WALLACE?
In the fucking dirt. Along with me.
The wire is visible in the first pic but in the second and third? That’s a stretch. One thing I’d like to point out is the license plate in the second picture on the car. Looks like it reads “…OR DIE” ?!?!?! Is that not a hidden clue in itself? Not sure if that is some state’s license plate slogan kinda thing or not but hey, I’d say its a better hint.
New Hampshire’s motto “Live Free or Die” is on its plates, and that’s where Walt’s fake ID says he’s from.
Explosives!
In S05E07 ‘Say My Name’ did anyone else see the ‘Cake Pop’ with the pig face and Heisenberg hat? Maybe a sneaky little clue that Walt could end up snitching…
red rock is heroin.. there’s black tar, and red rock. red rock heroin is actually dragon’s blood incense, but stupid junkies think it gets them high so so be it.
Maybe it’s an oxygen line.
I was skeptical reading about this theory. But I just went back and watched him walking out of the bathroom. There is something under his shirt that looks like a wire and we are supposed to see it. I have too much trouble believing W.W. is working for the DEA. Not Mr. White. No matter what. And besides, there isn’t anyone the DEA could ever want more than Heisenberg. Not Madrigal, not the Declan. How could he be in any position to make a deal?
I think Vince Gilligan wants us to think it’s a wire. And I think we will find out what it really is.
Also, when concealing a wire, that thin, henley-style t-shirt is probably the last one you would choose.You can see nipples through those things. Everyone knows a flannel button-up is right choice.
if we are supposed to see this “wire” it has nothing to do with DEA and catching a gun salesman. I think ya’ll are reaching. looks like creases in a shirt to me and I re-watched the scene. Also everyone get off Flynn getting addicted / being addicted to meth. that is not going to happen and you obviusly have a strange perception of what drug use is actually like. doing meth does make you “care free” as we saw from Tuco and all the tweakers on this show. Flynn is obviously not on hard drugs especially considering he idolizes his DEA uncle. Also, The Holly dying thing could be a red herring guys… just sayin. Maybe the pink bear connection is about how the actions of her father will forever shape the rest of her life. To me the bear always partly stood for a loss of innocence (Breaking Bad). Walt’s actions will forever be attached to holly and scar her for life
I could be “tubing” The tube or the line could be from a (96) hour portable chemo pump/delivery system. The patients wears a pump which is located in a small flat fanny pack that is worn around the waist. The patient has a iv shunt that is installed in the upper region of the chest. The chemo is delivered slowly over the (96) hour period through a tube that runs from the pack to the shunt in the upper chest.
Could be further evidence that his cancer is back. Noticed he didn’t touch his found or drink his coffee. Like a typical cancer patient on chemo attempts to eat but can not bring himself to do so. If it was a matter of “quality” he would have at least tried the food.
You note in the linked article about Chekov’s Gun that “Lambert” is likely a reference to Chemist Frank Lambert who is most noted for his work on thermodynamic entropy. I would like to point out that Lambert’s specific work is about the “dissipation” of energy, as in an explosion. In fact, there is a specific type of explosion call an “entropic explosion”. Entropy can also mean either certainty, or uncertainty, and it therefore has a cute symmetry with Heisenberg and uncertainty. But, I suggest that, in this case, Gilligan is telling us there is an explosion coming. Hence the “wire” is probably a trigger for a bomb vest, which could easily be hidden under that big coat.
I’m with you!
i think his moment of redemption will be saving somebodys life. i would guess jesse.
he uses sauls guy to get a new idenity and it works. hes pretty much free and clear. he could be out and free with all his money. but hes pretty much destroyed now that hes been outed and has to live as someone else. so he says f@ck it and goes back to save jesse…
I have been thinking along similar lines BIlly..Hank has given Walt a get out of new Mexico forever card “or I will kill you “, hank buys Sauls guy’s 600k identity, meanwhile Jessie has been kidnapped by the white supremisist gang to cook for them, Walt returns to new Mexico knowing he’s dying , hank is trailing Jessie at the same time , Walt save Jessie , hank wastes Walt….. Blah blah
No-can-do!
Look at when Hank pours Walt a drink (approx 21:04 into Sliding All Over the Place). He has the same wire down his shirt.
–Really, what I think happened, is that Walter is not wearing a wedding ring, so that means that Hank got Skyler to turn state’s evidence, and his family has fractured. The show has always been about Walt avenging people who have done him wrong. (Crazy 8, Tuco, Bagdong, Hank –when he is broken saying he’d rather tag trees than chase monsters–, Gus, Mike). The only ones who he has not gotten revenge on are his former colleagues, at Gray Matter, who have made billions off his research. That is going to have to play into it…
Not wearing a wedding ring in season 5 premiere, Live Free or Die…
He took on a lot of Gus’s calm demeanor after killing him, as well as upping his personal style a bit, carrying himself more like a boss. However, there are plenty of people he has killed and NOT taken on their characteristics. The crust thing doesn’t work for me, because Crazy 8 didn’t actually cut any crust… He may have asked for it, but… I think its more a sign of Walt’s obsessive personality
Crazy 8 was trying to kill him with the piece of broken dinner-plate… stabbed Walt in the leg???
Hmm… I didn’t notice the wire – but that’s interesting fodder. I was kinda thinking that Jesse took over & WW was going to take him down- but, the wire & hypothetical story plot DOES make sense in the world of VG.
But I wanted to add my 2 cents in here as well..
There is an EXCELLENT podcast on YouTube w/the actor (Bryon Crandon) who plays Walter White on the Howard Stern Show. It’s nearly an hour long- but Crandon does bring up the fact that he ACTUALLY made meth twice ! “Once with (help) from the DEA and the other on his own”.. all this to add genuineness to the show! AWESOME !
@Agent M yes that was the same gun sales man from the episode thirty eight snub where walt “hint hint” purchases a thirty eight snub. His name is lawson and he is portrayed by the actor Jim Beaver. This is how I know its him, [www.imdb.com] . Walt is still in New Mexico in the scene, just using a fake ID and license plate that says he is from New Hampshire. Not really an explanation why yet but we will learn eventually. So heres what we have now from this Denny’s scene, Walt is using a fake identity in Denny’s while purchasing a gun from Lawson, the gun dealer he has done business with before, Walt looks to be wearing a wire from the first screenshot above, but why would he be betraying Lawson and who would want to take down Lawson. We also know something bad must be happening because Walt is not spending his 52nd birthday with his family, unless this is a fake birthday to go with the fake ID. Also Walt’s cancer is possibly back from the chemo scene at the end of season 5 episode 8, although some think that scene is just him getting a check up and he learns he is not sick again but free of cancer completely, another hint that the cancer is back is in the Denny’s scene he coughs in the bathroom and pops pills.
Aside for my inability to type correctly. My my theory is related to the magnet episode. And the pink bike that rolls across the evidence room. Not only Frings laptop got wiped. More child deaths I think and yes note to holly is one
I have fat fingers
Theres a lot of talk about Chekhov’s gun, I just thought I would point out what seems to me like a huge blunderbuss mounted on the wall.
In the last episode, after the prison murders, we see Skylar place Holly into her playpen (Holly is wearing a romper suit the same colour and shade as a prison jumpsuit in this shot). The shot is confusing as it is just over a second in length and serves no real purpose.
Then I remembered both Hank & Marie mention that they “could look after her [Holly] forever” on separate occasions.
I have a theory that Marie is infertile which would explain why her and Hank have no children of their own despite being very attentive and caring with other peoples. It would also go some way into explaining why she has a developed, long standing problem with kleptomania. Perhaps Marie would see Walts imminent arrest as a chance to bargain for the one thing she could never give Hank, effectively making Holly a prisoner and Marie her captor.
Walt might join the DEA after Hank confronting him about the book and Walt explaining how he was extremely interested in the work the DEA does, which is shown throughout the enitire show, so Walt took the book and tried to investigate it. Therefore gaining some trust and starting to work for the DEA, and it also gives Walt a better understanding of how the DEA work and also getting Hank off his back and ease some suspicion.
RichieBlackHeart, I think you are right. Did you notice that Marie asks Skylar by the pool if she has a halo? I think this is supposed to be a clue that she will end up with the kids: The name “Marie” is close to the name”Mary,” and the halo’s makes her like the Virgin, i.e. immaculate conception.